Waystar shares slip in Nasdaq debut after digital health company priced IPO in middle of range

Waystar stock fell about 3% in its Nasdaq debut on Friday, after the health-care payment software vendor priced its IPO in the middle of the expected range.

The stock opened at $21 per share, down from the IPO price of $21.50 late Thursday. Waystar stated that its expected May share price would be between $20 and $23. On Friday, shares fell more than 3% to $20.70.

The IPO market has been mostly dormant since late 2021, when the extended bull market ended and investors became concerned about a weakening economy. Few technology companies have tried to go public since then, and no digital health companies went public in 2023, according to a Rock Health report.

However, the broader venture-backed technology market may be thawing. This year, several companies, including Reddit, Astera Labs, and Rubrik, went public. Tempus AI, a health technology company, also released a preliminary prospectus this year.

The market capitalization of Waystar is estimated to be $3.5 billion based on its initial share price. The stock trades under the ticker symbol “WAY.”

According to its prospectus, Waystar provides health-care payment and revenue cycle management tools, as well as facilitates more than 5 billion payment transactions annually. The company was formed in 2017 when the health-care payment companies Navicure and ZirMed merged.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to be a public company because we think it helps us with awareness, helps us with credibility, helps us improve our capital structure and allows for further investments in areas such as generative AI,” Waystar CEO Matt Hawkins stated on CNBC’s “The Exchange” on Friday.

Waystar’s revenue for the quarter ending March 31 was $224.8 million, up 18% from $191.1 million the previous year. Waystar reported a net loss of $15.9 million for the quarter, compared to $10.6 million the previous year.

The company intends to use the proceeds from the offering to pay off existing debt. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Barclays are leading the offering.